Trudeau foundation does not own stock in company involved with COVID-19 vaccine production

Some social media posts are taking aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has raised ire from critics of his efforts to end weeks of protests by truckers who oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

One recent Instagram post suggests Trudeau’s position is informed by his pocketbook.

"Trudeau's foundation owns 40% of Acuitas Therapeutics which makes mechanic lipids for Pfizer," says the Feb. 18 post on Instagram. It’s a screenshot of a tweet that has been retweeted more than 16,000 times and liked more than 32,000 times.

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Though the post doesn’t name what foundation it is referencing, we know that Trudeau has been involved in the past with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, named for Trudeau’s late father, who was prime minister from 1968 to 1984. The organization describes itself as "an independent and non-partisan charity established in 2001 as a living memorial to the former prime minister." Justin Trudeau was involved in the foundation from the time of its founding until 2014, when he formally withdrew from involvement after being elected.

Both Trudeau’s office and Acuitas Therapeutics said the claim is false.

It is "not accurate," said a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office media relations. 

Acuitas is a privately owned company and "neither Prime Minister Trudeau nor the Trudeau Foundation owns or has owned shares or has any interest in the company," according to President and CEO Thomas Madden. "There is no connection between the Prime Minister and/or the Trudeau Foundation and Acuitas Therapeutics."

Reuters was granted access to Acuitas’ company registry and reported that Trudeau and the Trudeau foundation were not among those listed as having shares.

Acuitas develops lipid nanoparticle delivery systems, which are used as a protective layer for mRNA vaccines.

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The Pfizer vaccine uses mRNA, which "is fragile and would be chopped to pieces by our natural enzymes if it were injected directly into the body," the New York Times reported. "To protect their vaccine, Pfizer and BioNTech wrap the mRNA in oily bubbles made of lipid nanoparticles."

The claim appears to have originated with Dr. Robert Malone. In a video shared Feb. 16 on Facebook, Malone said there is "quite a bit of speculation" in Canada that Trudeau and his family’s foundation holds 40% of Acuitas and "there may be a major financial conflict of interest." Malone has promoted false and misleading claims about the COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic and has been banned from Twitter for violating the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policies.

An Instagram post says, "Trudeau's foundation owns 40% of Acuitas Therapeutics which makes mechanic lipids for Pfizer."

Both Trudeau’s office and Acuitas Therapeutics said the claim is false.

Acuitas said neither Trudeau nor the foundation owns or has owned shares or has any interest in the company.

We rate this claim False.